1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for linearly moving a tray in a microwave oven, and more particularly, to a device for linearly moving a tray in a microwave oven in which the tray for loading a foodstuff to be heated thereon has the same rectangular shape as a bottom surface of a heating chamber of the microwave oven and is linearly moved.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A microwave oven is generally an apparatus for transferring heat to an object (for example, a foodstuff) using a microwave having a constant wavelength. As shown in FIG. 1, the microwave oven includes a heating chamber 2 for heating the foodstuff, and the heating chamber 2 is constructed to be opened and closed by a door 4.
The microwave generated from a magnetron (not shown) is supplied into the heating chamber 2 and causes the foodstuff therein to be heated. At this time, the foodstuff should be uniformly heated by the microwave. However, due to the wavelength characteristic of the microwave, it is difficult to uniformly heat the foodstuff in its stationary state.
Therefore, in order to uniformly heat the foodstuff by using the microwave, a tray 6 for loading the foodstuff thereon should be rotated so that the foodstuff can be uniformly heated by the microwave.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional microwave oven constructed such that the foodstuff is heated while the tray 6 for loading the foodstuff thereon is rotated, has the following disadvantages.
Generally, the heating chamber 2 is formed to be rectangular as viewed from above, whereas the tray 6 for loading the foodstuff thereon is constructed to be circular for its rotation. Therefore, it can be seen that an area used for actually heating the foodstuff within the heating chamber 2 corresponds to a circular area occupied by the tray 6. The above means that in view of a structure of the tray mounted within the heating chamber of the conventional microwave oven, there are large dead space that cannot be used for actually heating the foodstuff. That is, when using the structures of the heating chamber and tray of the conventional microwave oven, it can be seen that there is a problem in that the efficiency of using the space within the heating chamber is restricted to a certain limit.
The conventional microwave oven also has the above disadvantages. Furthermore, in a microwave oven that is also used as a hood and is transversely longer, since its transverse length is much longer, dead space that cannot be used for heating the foodstuff becomes much larger.
The present invention is contemplated to solve the above problems in the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a device for linearly moving a tray in a microwave oven, by which the space within a heating chamber of the microwave oven can be efficiently used as a whole.
According to the present invention, since a bottom surface of the heating chamber of the conventional microwave oven is generally formed to be rectangular, the tray is correspondingly formed to be rectangular. Further, the rectangular tray is constructed such that it can be linearly moved in the right and left direction.
According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, there is provided a device for linearly moving a tray in a microwave oven with a hexahedral heating chamber for heating a foodstuff included therein, comprising: a tray for loading thereon a foodstuff to be heated within the heating chamber; a driving motor for generating rotational force; a converting means for converting a rotational motion from the driving motor into a linear reciprocating motion of the tray; and a supporting means mounted between a bottom surface of the heating chamber and the tray for supporting the tray so as to linearly reciprocate the tray.
According to an embodiment of the converting means of the present invention, the converting means comprises a groove formed in the bottom surface of the tray and having a predetermined length in the fore and aft direction, and a rotating member with an eccentric protrusion formed at an eccentric position and inserted into the groove, and the rotating member is rotated by the driving motor so that the tray can be linearly reciprocated in the right and left direction depending on the amount of rotation of the eccentric protrusion.
According to an embodiment of the device of the present invention, the device further comprises a bearing member fitted around the eccentric protrusion for coming into rolling contact with an inner wall of the groove.
According to an embodiment of the tray of the present invention, it is preferable that the tray has the same rectangular shape as the bottom surface of the heating chamber.
According to an embodiment of the supporting means of the present invention, the supporting means comprises a frame positioned below the tray, and a plurality of rollers rotatably mounted on the frame and interposed between the tray and the bottom surface of the heating chamber, and the tray is supported by the rollers to linearly reciprocate the tray.
According to another embodiment of the supporting means of the present invention, the supporting means comprises a plurality of rollers rotatably supported on and protruded upwardly from the bottom surface of the heating chamber so that the rollers can support the bottom surface of the tray.
According to an embodiment of the heating chamber of the present invention, the bottom surface of the heating chamber is formed with a depressed portion corresponding to a range that the tray is linearly reciprocated in the right and left direction.
According to another embodiment of the tray of the present invention, a protrusion for preventing the rollers from running off therefrom are formed on a circumferential portion on the bottom surface of the tray that the rollers come into contact with.
According to the present invention, even though the tray mounted within the heating chamber of the microwave oven occupies larger space within the heating chamber, the microwave can be sufficiently and uniformly irradiated or applied onto the foodstuff by means of a predetermined motion of the tray. Therefore, first of all, the foodstuff can be uniformly heated by the microwave. Further, it is expected that the space within the heating chamber of the microwave oven can be efficiently used.